Discovery of Potent and Orally Bioavailable Dihydropyrazole GPR40 Agonists

G protein-coupled receptor 40 (GPR40) has become an attractive target for the treatment of diabetes since it was shown clinically to promote,glucose-stimulated insulin secretion. Herein, we report our efforts to develop highly I selectiveand potent GPR40 agonists with a dual mechanism of action, promoting both ghicose-clependent insulin and incretin secretion. Employing strategies to increase fiolarity and the ratio of sp(3)/sP(2) character of the chemotype, we identified BMS-986118 (compound 4), which showed potent and selective GPR40 agonist activity in vitro. In vivo, compound 4 demonstrated insulinotropic efficacy and GLP-1 secretory effects resulting in improved glucose control in acute animal models.